The Starting Five: Week 4

Five thoughts, top fives and five looks ahead, plus players of the week:

THE STARTING FIVE

1. Fans of Union County boys basketball have had Feb. 4 circled on their calendar for nearly a month. But head coach Phil Colicchio insists Linden currently has Feb. 2 circled, and only since beating Union Thursday. That’s because his Tigers must face a gritty Westfield squad Tuesday — one that hung close before falling by 11 in the teams’ first meeting. With a win there, then they can worry about rival Plainfield (Thursday, 4p), which is a chance at a marquee win that would really highlight an impressive rebound from last year.

Linden's Quadeer Lewis has a shot blocked in the Tigers' January loss at Plainfield; they'll try and avenge that loss Thursday in Linden, but not until they survive Westfield Tuesday. (Andrew Miller/Staff Photographer)

After going just 14-13, the Tigers’ only losses came in a span of three days against St. Patrick and Plainfield. The loss to the Cardinals came Jan. 9, and both teams have rolled through the Union County Conference’s Watchung Division since then.

2. Dunellen has a division title in the books, and the other three GMC divisions are coming down the home stretch (the UCC schedule runs later, so there’s still a lot up in the air). St. Joseph and Monroe can actually put away the titles this week, while Spotswood and Bishop Ahr may come down to the final game. The Falcons (14-3, 11-0) are up two games on East Brunswick with five Red Division games to play. Any combination of wins and EB losses reaching three clinches it for St. Joe’s. Monroe (14-2, 10-1) is even closer, with two less White games to play; a win (v. Carteret) and a McCarrick loss (at North Brunswick) Monday will do the trick.

3. Last week we touched on the longest winning streaks in the area, so this week we’ll celebrate those teams that snapped out of bad funks. Brearley is the big winner, beating Roselle Park to break out of a 12-game slide. Johnson and Perth Amboy had lost six in a row before winning midweek, while the Crusaders ironically allowed Hillside to break a five-game rut. Timothy Christian also won Saturday to end a five-game slide, while Colonia ended a six-gamer.

4. This is the final week of state qualifying, which doesn’t mean what it used to. This is the first go-around with the new rule allowing sub-.500 teams into the tournament (there’ll be plenty coverage of qualifying all week here on the blog). Coaches seem to be torn on the issue. Monroe’s Bob Turco is staunchly against it, though it remains to be seen whether it hurts the Falcons by forcing them to play an extra game or helps them by letting them build momentum against an inferior opponent. North Brunswick’s Ed Breheny, who’s 9-7 team has a weight off its shoulders thanks to the rule, likes the idea simply becuase it means more teams playing more basketball. And Colonia’s Chris Chiera can’t really decide, though his 3-9 team has a shot at sneaking in that it never would have in the past. Stay tuned.

5. Getting back to Brearley’s first win, the Bears beat Roselle Park with their best offensive effort of the season by a mile. Brearley (1-12) went into the game averaging less than 30 points-per-game, a mark senior Dom Vitale topped all by himself with 33 points. That’s more points than Brearley netted as a team in six of its games, and the 61 points they tallied is exactly as many as it scored in three games earlier this season — Snyder, Roselle Catholic and (believe it or not) Roselle Park on opening night.

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MIDDLESEX COUNTY PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Tyler OsofskiSenior guard
Spotswood

After a 20-win season last winter, the Chargers (13-1) are on their way to another thanks in large part to Osofksi. In their biggest game of the season, the two-year starter — the third one in his family — scored 25 of his 29 points in a huge second-half surge to lead an upset of Bishop Ahr Monday. He averaged 17 points-per-game during the week, including a 15-point effort in a win Friday over Dunellen. Osofksi, who is the team’s leading scorer at 15.6 ppg this season, is following in the footsteps of brothers Dan (2004 grad) and Bryan (2007), who each averaged double-digits at Spotswood as well.

UNION COUNTY PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Mike RiellySenior guard
Governor Livingston

The UCC Mountain Division picture has been murky this season — outside of first-place Cranford and, to a lesser extent, Summit — but thanks to a huge effort from Rielly, the Highlanders appear to be emerging as a third contender. In a 61-47 win over Rahway in Berkeley Heights, the senior dropped 27 points, then followed that up with another 18 in a narrow 63-60 overtime win over Union Catholic. That leaves GL (9-5, 5-3) just a half game behind second-place Summit and gives them an outside shot to catch Cranford if the Cougars stumble down the stretch.

UNION COUNTY TOP 5

1. Plainfield (14-1) – It seems like the loss to St. Patrick has lit a fire under Tyrone Johnson
2. Linden (13-2) – Cannot afford to overlook Westfield Tues, even with Plainfield looming Thurs
3. Union (9-7) – Thoughts of revenge went down the drain quickly in the face of Linden’s defense
4. Westfield (7-6) – Held serve by beating Elizabeth, can legitimize their season Tuesday night
5. Cranford (10-3) – After a middling start, the Cougars have recovered well to reach 10 wins
Off the Bench: Summit (7-6), Dayton (11-3), Governor Livingston (9-5), Roselle Catholic (8-4)

MIDDLESEX COUNTY TOP 5

1. St. Joseph (14-3) – Another week, another three Red Division wins for Rennard and company
2. Monroe (14-2) – They’ll be eyeing a share of the White title against Carteret this Monday
3. Bishop Ahr (11-2) – Wins over East Brunswick and McCarrick give the Trojans a ton of cred
4. Cardinal McCarrick (12-5) – Solid win over Sayreville a good sign after ugly loss to Ahr
5. Spotswood (13-1) – Finally beat Bishop Ahr, but the overall resume isn’t quite as strong
Off the Bench: East Brunswick (12-3), Sayreville (10-6), Old Bridge (10-7), New Brunswick (10-8)

LOOKING AHEAD

It’s the last week to try and buff up your record for state qualifying, here are five games where both teams are in need of wins:

1. Woodbridge travels over to Perth Amboy Monday night in a contest between teams that could sneak into the North 2 Group IV field. The Panthers (5-10) are currently in the 15th slot in the section, with a half-game lead on Edison and a full-game cushion over Elizabeth. The Barrons (4-12) are on the wrong side of things over, but there are enough teams ahead of them that haven’t submitted an intent form — including Perth Amboy — that if the state tournament started today, they’d be as the 16 seed. Since you figure at least two or three more teams will throw their hat in the ring, Woodbridge can definitely use this win.

2. With a couple more wins, Governor Livingston will assure itself a first-round home game; the Highlanders (9-5) are eighth in the Central Group II race, and will kick off the week with sectional rival Johnson in Clark. The Crusaders (4-10) lost by 21 the first time, but desperatley need a win and some help to leapfrog Bordentown and get on the right side of the CJ II bubble.

3. The Gold Division is basically in the books, with Dunellen as its champ, but the Destroyers (8-7) and three of their division mates have one more Gold game left, both of which will play big roles in Central Group I jockeying. Monday, Dunellen plays at Piscataway Tech (4-10), while South Amboy (8-8) plays at East Brunswick Tech (8-6) Tuesday. The winners will be in great shape for home games in the first round, losers will not. The Raiders appear to be in, but with a loss or two, Henry Hudson could pass them (assuming the Admirals send in their paperwork), so an upset of Dunellen wouldn’t hurt.

4. Scotch Plains-Fanwood and Elizabeth are struggling in the Watchung Division basement, but the two are also both squarely on their sectional bubbles when they meet in Scotch Plains Tuesday. The Raiders (4-11) are tied for the final spot in North 2 Group III with South Plainfield, while the Minutemen (4-11) are one spot outside the top 16 in North 2 Group IV. This winner will still have work to do, but the loser will be truly scrambling.

5. Finally, how about some good old-fashioned cutoff day drama? Well, at least cutoff day action? McCarrick (12-5) is at Rahway, and has its eyes on the No. 2 seed in Non-Public South B, while the surging Indians (5-9) appear safe in North 2 Group III — but they haven’t yet sent in their form yet. Sadly, this is the most drama you’ll find in a game Saturday. The 2008-09 cutoff, this sure ain’t.

About Mike New

Mike New is former writer at the Home News Tribune, having covered Middlesex County softball in 2009 and 2010. A 2008 graduate of Rutgers University, he served as sports editor and managing editor of The Daily Targum. Now an assistant in the publishing world, he has returned to In the Paint and will be a weekly contributor on Sundays.